Welcome to the First Issue Bin, where I — Ethan Kaye — randomly grab one of this week's comics that’s just starting up and give you the details on whether it should get added to your collection … or remain on the comic shop shelf.
Secret Six #1
Writer: Nicole Maines
Artist: Stephen Segovia
Color Artist: Rain Beredo
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editors: Kathleen Wisneshi and Paul Kaminski
You might not find a bigger Secret Six fan than me.
I'm serious. If there was a book that I could say changed the way I felt about comic books, it was Gail Simone's Secret Six #1 from 2006. The final full-page splash reveal of the Mad Hatter by Brad Walker and Jimmy Palmiotti, smoking a skull-bedecked hookah on top of a pile of hats just hit me in a weird way and it got me interested in comics again after years of being a lapsed reader. I started collecting in earnest, going on to purchase 10 pages of original art from that 6-issue run, including that amazing, life-changing reveal page.
So I take Secret Six seriously, and it's kept a great quality standard going for several series, namely the 2008 series and the 2014 series, both again by Simone. The 2025 relaunch of Secret Six is the first series since 1969 that hasn't been written by Simone, so I was a little trepidatious but ultimately looking forward to it. It's by Nicole Maines, who's proved her mettle through the Titans: Beast Wars, Lazarus Planet, and Absolute Power. And it's got some familiar faces inside too, with old Secret Six teammates Catman, Deadshot, and Black Alice regrouping with new faces Dreamer, Gossamer (best recognized as Jon Kent's significant other, Jay Nakamura), and Jon Kent himself.
I guess I was expecting some fresh dirt to be turned up, but most of this issue is just litigating the events of Absolute Power, last year's crossover where government playmaker Amanda Waller persecuted everyone and anyone with super powers. Waller ended up in jail, her mind erased, and that's where we expected her to stay for a while. Except she isn't there. We think.
Dreamer has a dream where Waller escapes, plus a few waking nightmares to that effect, and she, Gossamer, and Jon Kent break into Belle Reve prison to double check. But they haul ass out of there, with Black Alice in tow, before we see if Waller is missing or not.
I gotta be honest, this one was all over the place. Having a Secret Six team where 50% of those six are heroes seems like a betrayal of the concept. Sure, Jon and Dreamer were little shits when they were forced to round up heroes for Waller in Absolute Power, and Gossamer is kind of an unknown quantity, although still very accepted by the Superfamily as a good egg, but it seems like a misstep.
The conceit of the series has been (since 2006 at least) that these are wicked criminals who drifted together and kind of come off as better people for it in the end, but remain villains that can be used by any other writer as villains and the characterization still rings true. We're just let in on their thoughts and feelings and motivations a lot more, which is where the 2006 book absolutely broke comics for the better. Sure you can use Scandal Savage as an antagonist for your Catwoman book, but now she has a whole backstory that makes her so much more engaging.
DC has been hammering Jon Kent and Dreamer very hard in recent books, but neither of them seem to have much depth other than 1) They're conflicted that they've been used by others for nefarious purposes, and 2) They have enormous expectations placed on them.
Jon Kent deserves his own book where he and Jay Nakamura can live out the conflicted life of new love mixing with superheroes and struggles with individuality and identity. Dreamer deserves to be a spotlight character on a pure super team where she can explore healthy team dynamics while not in the midst of a world-ending crisis cranked to 11, or being jerked around by controlling monsters like Waller. I don't think Secret Six is that book for either of them.
Stephen Segovia's art is a bit of a mystery. The action scenes are wild, with some great poses and movement that just drips with momentum. But so much of this issue is conversations and personal moments, and that art feels off. When things calm down, limbs are too long (or too short), backs are arched in odd ways, gazes don't connect, heads are too big (or too small). The quiet moments don't need this much kinetic energy, but it's there regardless and it introduces a feeling of unease to panels that should feel comfortable. Still, it's better than what I could do.
I'm enough of a Secret Six fan that I'm going to follow this one to the end, but that's out of sheer completionism for the property. I wasn't enough of a fan of Absolute Power to enjoy seeing it played out again on a smaller scale. Using Amanda Waller as a MacGuffin to bring the cast together just feels like we're back in 2024, getting a few last drops out of the major crossover lemon instead of embarking on some new adventure that literally all of these characters deserve.
Anticipation for this series: 6/6
Backgrounds: 5/6 (lotta good backgrounds in this one)
Villains: 2/6 (Deadshot and Catman are relegated to the last page, but we do get some Bizarro and Black Alice)
Requirement to read previous crossovers and miniseries: 5/6
Fun: 1/6
Angst: 5/6
Verdict: What started as a unique series where bad folks could spread their wings and show their human sides has become just another superhero-driven mashup like all the other DC superhero mashups. Leave it on the shelf.
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